Battery cell hoist



y 9 I. E.- COFFEY 5 BATTERY CELL HOI ST Filed Aug. 6, 1951 Patented May 3, 1932 IRVEN COFFEY, PLAYA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA BATTERY CELL HOIS'I.

Application filed August 6, 1931. Serial No. 555,543.

My invention relates to a device having sufficient strength to permit pulling of a cell from a storage battery without the necessity of loosening the composition, connectlng one cell and the next.

An object :of my invention is a small hoist, the legs of which may be mounted or fitted on the rim of a storage battery and this hoist having a winding device such as a hoist chain with a pair of grappling jaws, each jaw belng adapted to engage a terminal of the cell, one of which engages the terminal after the terminal strap connecting to the adjacent cell has been cut.

l5 3 Another feature of my invention is the utilization of a balance beam to equalize the pulling action between the two grappling jaws and also to allow these to operate at difl'erentelevations.

. Another feature .of my invention relates to the use of the device as a single pulling hoistin which the balance arm or beam may be removed and one of the grappling jaws connected directly to the hoist chain.

Another feature of my invention comprises themanner of insulation of the grappling jaws from the balance lever to prevent short circuiting of the batterycell.

Another detailed feature relating to the mounting of the device is a supporting frame having legs with a springfdr'awing the legs together and shoes on the legs to engage the sides of the battery, the hoist being operated by-a rotating drum or shaft. Y

35 My invention is illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the hoist; i Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows;

10 "Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Figs. 1 or 4 in the direction of the arrows; V 1

Fig. 4 is-a vertical section on the line4-4 v of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows.

L5 In myconstruction I employ a hoist frame 11 having twosides 12, each side havinga pair of legs 13 which are illustrated as formed of angles andhaving a transverse plate 14 between these legs adjacent the top and an 50 angle 15 between a pair of legsat the bottom,

top links and 41.

such angle having a horizontal flange 16 and a vertical flange 17. The sides are connected by hinge pivots 18 at the top connecting the legs of each side.' These legs are illustrated as having a slight bend at 19 and 5! above this bend there area pair of toggle links 20 connecting through each of the opposite pair of legs, and in'these toggle legs there isrotatably mounted a shaft 21 having a drum 22 thereon, this shaft having a crank 23. A tension spring 24 secured between the opposite sides tends to pull these sides together, thus readily holding a device mounted on the edge 25 of a storage battery 26. The spring action readily allows this device to be clamped as one of the angles 15 can be fitted over the battery on one side, then the other angle caught on the other side. The upper end 27 of the flexible chain 28 is connected to the drum. This chain has a removable hook 29 at the bottom, such hook having a small eye 30 connecting on the lower link of the chain and a larger eye 31 which attaches to a journal pin 32, this journal pin having a pair of links 33 connected thereto. The balance lever 34 is connected to the links 33 by means of a pin 35. Such balance lever has an opposite pair of notches 36 at its opposite ends. The balance lever is also provided with two clearance notches 37 on the bottom. There are a pair of grappling jaws 38, both being similar, each of which has an upper pin 39 which connects two pairs of These links again have pins 42 and 43 therethrough and connect to the jaw forming levers 44, each of which has an upper part 45above the lower pin 46 and a curved portion 47 below. Each lower end 47 has a strap 48 connecting the opposite sides, this strap having an inwardly projecting gripping edge 49 which is preferably somewhatsharpened to engage and grip a terminal 500m a battery cell 51 of astorage battery.

In order to prevent short circuiting the pin 39 has an insulating bushing 52 thereon, the pin 42 on the inside has an insulating bushing -53, and there are two insulating plates 54'fitting on the inside and between the links 40. Thus, as the pin 39 is insulated appliance, preventing any short circuit'between theterminalsot the cell. It is believed that tlieihanner of using this device is quite clear. However, it may be stated that the. grappling jaws operate somewhat on the principalflot lazy, tongs, The

-, rear portion may be gripped on the cell terminals, it being necessary to cut the strap connecting one cell to the next The crank is operated to wind a chain on the drum 22 and thus raise the cell out of the battery.

'- Presuming only one grappling jaw is required, the. balance lever may be disconnected from thehook 29,a'nd one of thegrapplin'g jaws fitted therein in which case the bushing 52 will form a bearing in the eye 31 of the book 29. 1

A relatively important feature of my invention that the hoist frame, when pullinga cell, gives a lateral support to the battery box or "case, The sides 01" the batteries are usually made quite thin and sometimes in pulling the cell theside wall is forced out of alignment to such an extent that the transverse walls are broken or cracked, especially at their junction line with the side wall, but with my construction the downward pull on the toggle links 20'due to the rotation of the drum 22 tends to pull the sides 12 having the legs 13 together; that is: there is an inward pressure on the angle plate'15, the ver' tical flange of which presses againstthe outside top portion of the 's'ideof'the battery box and thus tends to resist pressures which might force such side outwardly.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit orsce e of the invention by the appended claims.

'I'claim: Y I v 1. A battery cell hoist comprising, in com bination, a hoist; frame'having means for support on a battery, a tension'means con nected thereto, a balance lever connected to the tension means,-aplurality of grapples,

as defined each having a pivot connected to the balance lever, and each having a'plurality of links extending from the pivot with levers connected to the links, such levers having jaws, said pivots havinginsulation, andsaid links being provided with insulating plates insulating each grapple from the balance lever.

' i '2. A battery cell hoist comprising, in com.-

bination, a hoist frame having means for supp'ort-ona battery,a tension means connected thereto, a balance lever connected to the tension means ancl being stormed of a flat bar,

a pair of grapples,each having a pivot removably fitted in the balance lever, a pair of links extending from each pivot, each link having a pair of bars, a pair of levers connected to the links by second pivots, and said levers being pivotally connected together forming in effect a lazy tong, .the l-evers being formed of spaced bars withajaw at the lower end of each lever, the main pivot connected tothe balance l ver having an insulating bushing, a "pair-of bars forming one of the links having an insulating plate, and the balance'lever having a notch in its lower edge to accommodate oneof the pivots connecting one of the links and one of the levers, such pivot having {an insulating bushing, thereby insulating the gr'apples from the balance levee Y W 3 A battery cell hoist as claimed in claim 2, thetension means having a removable hook supporting the balance lever, and said hook being adapted to engage the main pivot 0t the grapple and to operate the grapple directly. V

4; A battery cell hoist comprising, incombination, a hoist name having a pair of sides with legs, the sides being pivotally connected at the top and the legs having means for support on a battery; at the bottom, atension spring between the sides, toggle links connected to the opposite sides and having a rotatable shaft 3' our-salad therein, flexible tension means cohneetedto the shaft, and a ra ple connected to the tension means.

5. A battery cell hoist omprising, incombination, a hoist frame'having 'a pair offsides, each with a pair of legs, the legs being pivotall connected at the top, each pair or legs having an angle bar-connection at the bottorn, a pair of toggle links connected'tothe legs of the opposite side and the toggle links at their junction" having a crank shaft journaled ther in, a contraction,spring'between the legs of the opposite sidesaflexible chain connected to the shaft, and agrapple conn'ected to the chain.- 1

. 6. A battery cell-ho'ist ccihprising, in comlei-nation, a hoist frame havin means for sup:

port on a battery-,a tension means connected thereto havinga hook, aibalanc'e lever disconn'ectiblyconneeted to the hook, a pair of rappies each having an insulated pivot disconnect'ibly connected to theb'al-ance lever and each having a lurality of links extending from thepivot's with levers connected to the links,- such levers having jaws, and'the hook being adapted for removal from the balance lever and to engage said pivot of either of the grapples. 7

- 7. a battery e11 hoist comprising, in combination, ah'oist' frame having a pair .o'itsides p'ivotally connected at the top f and having means for support one battery at the bot.- t'om, a air of 'toggl'e links depending 'do'wawar'dl' and inwardly from the two sides and having a rotatable shaft connected to the intersection of said links, a flexible tension means connected to the shaft, and a grapple connected to said tension means.

8. A battery cell hoist comprising, in combination, a hoist frame having a pair of sides 'pivotally connected together at the top and having means for support on the upper side edges of a battery at the bottom, a tension means with grapples, and connecting devices suspending the tension means from the two sides and adapted to exert an inward pull on the lower end of said sides when raising a battery cell.

9. A battery cell hoist comprising, in combination, a hoist frame having a pair of sides with legs, the sides being pivotally connected at the top, and legs having means for support on the upper side edges of a battery at the bottom, toggle links connected to the opposite sides and having a rotatable shaft journaled therein, a flexible tension means connected to the shaft, and a grapple connected to the ten-.

sion means, said toggle links being adapted "to transfer a tension to said sides exerting an inward pull on the bottom of said sides, when pulling a cell from a battery.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

IRVEN E. COFFEY. 

